Leigh Village Day Nursery

Leigh Village Day Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY368849 Inspection date 07/03/2012 Inspector Joanne Musgrave

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Setting address The Old Chapel, Elm Road, Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, SS9 1SG

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Telephone number 01702 480077 Email jwilevill@virgin.net Type of setting Childcare - Non-Domestic to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk. You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as

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you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way.

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T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out by Ofsted under Sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 on the quality and standards of the registered early years provision. ‘Early years provision’ refers to provision regulated by Ofsted for children from birth to 31 August following their fifth birthday (the early years age group). The registered person must ensure that this provision complies with the statutory framework for children’s learning, development and welfare, known as the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Introduction

The provider must provide a copy of this report to all parents with children at the setting where reasonably practicable. The provider must provide a copy of the report to any other person who asks for one, but may charge a fee for this service (The Childcare (Inspection) Regulations 2008 regulations 9 and 10).

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Introduction

The setting also makes provision for children older than the early years age group which is registered on the voluntary and/or compulsory part(s) of the Childcare Register. This report does not include an evaluation of that provision, but a comment about compliance with the requirements of the Childcare Register is included in Annex B.

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Introduction

Please see our website for more information about each childcare provider. We publish inspection reports, conditions of registration and details of complaints we receive where we or the provider take action to meet the requirements of registration. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Description of the setting

Leigh Village Day Nursery is one of three settings owned by Village Day Nurseries Limited. It opened in 1994 before changing ownership in 2008. The nursery operates from five rooms within a converted Chapel and Sunday School Hall in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex. A maximum of 100 children may attend the nursery at any one time. The nursery is open each weekday from 7.30am to 6.30pm all year round. All children share access to an enclosed outdoor play area.

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Description of the setting

There are currently 126 children aged from babies to under five years on roll. Of these, 38 receive funding for nursery education. Children attend for a variety of sessions or full day care. Children come from the local area. The nursery currently supports a small number of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and also supports a number of children who speak English as an additional language. The provision is registered by Ofsted on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register.

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Description of the setting

The nursery employs 29 staff. All staff hold appropriate early years qualifications. The manager is currently working towards a further professional qualification. The setting receives support from the local authority.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the provision is good.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Well-qualified and experienced staff provide good support overall for individual children's learning and development. Children benefit greatly from the nursery's stimulating play environment and they enjoy well planned activities, with opportunities for child-led learning experiences. Highly effective procedures are implemented to keep children safe and secure. Regular self-evaluation by the manager and staff ensure that priorities for development are identified and acted on, resulting in provision that responds to children's needs. However, the self evaluation does not routinely include the views of children. The partnerships with parents, the local schools and other agencies are a key strength and are significant in ensuring that the individual needs of all children are met.

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further?

To further improve the early years provision the registered person should:

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further?

 develop further the process of self-evaluation and informed discussions to identify strengths and weaknesses by including the views of children  support children to clarify ideas by expanding the use of open questions which support and extend children's thinking and help them make connections in their learning. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

Children are fully safeguarded and very well protected in the setting because the staff are very knowledgeable about the possible signs of abuse and the procedures to follow if they have concerns about a child in their care. All staff have attended regular and appropriate safeguarding training to enhance their skills and knowledge. Rigorous recruitment and vetting procedures are in place, which also includes a thorough induction for new staff. This ensures that children receive care from staff who are safe and suitable to work with young children. Children use premises that are safe and secure and are well supervised by vigilant staff at all times. Rigorous daily safety checks are completed and written risk assessments are reviewed regularly. This means that children are very well protected and able to move around the setting safely and freely.

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the early years provision

The environment is well organised, with an interesting and wide range of high quality resources available, indoors and outdoors. Children have good opportunities to choose what they would like to play with and can access most resources for themselves. Toys are readily accessible and stored attractively, at child height, in clearly labelled boxes and on open shelving. Where some resources are in cupboards photographs are displayed to show what equipment the children can choose from, which staff readily supply. The resources include toys that reflect the wider society, such as books and role play toys from other cultures. The wide range of resources available supports children in making good progress in their development. Staff offer sensitive support to children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities or those who have English as an additional language. They readily adapt activities to ensure that all children are fully included.

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the early years provision

The managers and staff share a clear vision and commitment to providing good quality childcare. The manager and staff continually look for ways to improve and use self-evaluation to identify the settings strengths and areas for development. Some identified weaknesses have been addressed and are having a positive impact on practice and outcomes for children. For example, redecorating the toilet has improved children's willingness to toilet train, and parents taking home their child's learning journey book has increased their involvement in their child's learning. The process of self-evaluation is beginning to include the views of parents and carers and there are also plans to include the views of children, although this is not yet fully embedded in practice.

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the early years provision

The setting has very effective partnership working with parents and carers. This is a real strength of the setting. The staff and parents share important information about their child's starting points, progress and individual needs. Regular formal meetings keep parents up to date with their child's progress and provide opportunities to agree future learning targets. Opportunities are also provided for parents to share information about their child's learning at home. This means that parents are involved in their child's learning and each child is very well supported in making progress towards the early learning goals. Parents value the supportive and nurturing ethos of the setting and the friendly approach of staff, which helps to ensure that individual needs of children are shared and met. Highly effective This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 relationships with the local schools and other professionals involved with the

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the early years provision

children are well established and contribute extremely well to supporting children's welfare and learning. Pre-school children are very well supported by effective transition arrangements which include visits to the local schools or teachers from the schools visiting the setting.

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and outcomes for children

Children of all ages thoroughly enjoy their time at the setting and develop very close relationships with the staff and each other. Staff are responsive to children's needs, giving reassurance and support as needed and acting as good role models. Children make good use of the outdoor area and the local area to both extend their learning and for exercise, for example, through trips to the beach and visits to the local park. Children are able to move around freely and safely because the staff are rigorous in ensuring the environment is safe both indoors and outdoors. Children are developing an awareness of personal safety because staff use opportunities to help children understand the reason for behaviour boundaries, such as why they should not run inside or climb on furniture.

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and outcomes for children

Children's good health is very effectively promoted by the staff as children are encouraged to develop good hygiene routines, for example, hand washing after toileting, before food and after activities. Children are learning to make good choices in food as they are offered a variety of fruit or vegetables for snack and fresh water is freely available during the day. The rolling snack time helps children develop an awareness of their bodily needs whilst playing uninterrupted. Self service at lunchtimes also helps children to learn about portion size. Children enjoy the social aspect of meal and snack times as they sit together with their friends and key workers, chattering together and developing good table manners. Children are developing good physical skills as there is a range of wheeled toys, climbing apparatus and other equipment available, children also make good use of the gym.

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and outcomes for children

Staff are very knowledgeable about the Early Years Foundation Stage and use this well to support children in their learning. Staff regularly observe children, keep detailed records of learning and progress and use this information to plan what a child needs to learn or develop next. Daily and weekly planning is based around the interests of the children which staff are ready to adapt and change with the children's interests. Children are enthusiastic learners and enjoy a range of interesting planned activities as well as having plenty of time to pursue their own interests. Staff are aware of individual needs and adapt activities to include more challenge for older or more able children. Praise is given as appropriate to encourage and promote self-esteem. Children behave very well in the setting because the staff give clear explanations, set appropriate boundaries and model the behaviour expected. Children are developing a respect for themselves and

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and outcomes for children

others and are learning about other cultures and beliefs. This is because the setting makes effective use of books, resources and activities to introduce new ideas and promote diversity.

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and outcomes for children

Children are developing good language and communication skills through the use This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 of targeted activities and by using nationally recognised communication resources. Interactions between adults and children support learning and encourage children to make progress. Most staff are skilled at enhancing children's language development, through asking open-ended questions, however, this is not always consistently applied. There is a range of engaging books available in comfortable areas where children enjoy looking at books either by themselves or with staff. Self-registration cards and labels around the pre-school rooms successfully enhance children's awareness of the written word in order to communicate. Children have plenty of opportunities to practise counting, for example, counting with an adult while looking at a book and reciting numbers forwards and

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and outcomes for children

backwards to 10 during singing time. Children develop early writing skills as there is a range of mark-making equipment available, both indoors and outdoors. The setting promotes knowledge and understanding of the world through a variety of activities including play with small world figures, cooking and using dough. Children are also gaining skills in using technology through electronic toys and operating the compact disc player and computer. This means that children are developing good skills for the future. Children engage in activities that offer interesting opportunities for sensory play, for example, feeling the texture of shaving foam and sawdust in a tray or experimenting with mixing paint colours. Children's artwork is clearly valued as it is displayed at child height. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Annex A: record of inspection judgements

The key inspection judgements and what they mean

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Annex A: record of inspection judgements

Grade 1 is Outstanding: this aspect of the provision is of exceptionally high quality Grade 2 is Good: this aspect of the provision is strong Grade 3 is Satisfactory: this aspect of the provision is sound Grade 4 is Inadequate: this aspect of the provision is not good enough

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children in the Early Years Foundation Stage?

The capacity of the provision to maintain continuous improvement

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Early Years Foundation Stage

The effectiveness of leadership and management in embedding ambition and driving improvement The effectiveness with which the setting deploys resources 2 The effectiveness with which the setting promotes equality and diversity The effectiveness of safeguarding 1 The effectiveness of the setting’s self-evaluation, including the steps taken to promote improvement The effectiveness of partnerships 1 The effectiveness of the setting’s engagement with parents and carers

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Stage

The quality of the provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage 2

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Stage

The extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning 2 The extent to which children feel safe 1 The extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles 2 The extent to which children make a positive contribution 1 The extent to which children develop skills for the future 2

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Stage

procedures set out in the guidance available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

The provider confirms that the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are: Met

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

The provider confirms that the requirements of the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are: Met

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